The present invention relates to rod belt conveyors, and in particular to a belt splice for connecting the ends of a flexible belt having a plurality of parallel rods attached thereon.
A rod belt conveyor is used to convey and transport and often to size food products such as tomatoes, onions, potatoes and various other vegetables. The spacing between the parallel rods defines an opening which may be used for sizing to allow objects of a lesser size to pass through the rods while the larger products remain on top of the conveying rods.
A typical rod belt conveyor used in agricultural machines, such as harvesters or the like includes a plurality of transversely extending rods secured between side bands or belts. Typically, the ends of the rods are flattened and secured to the belts by suitable fasteners.
The belts are made from a flexible material such as heavy gauge fabric, reinforced rubber and/or neoprene. The belts form an endless loop and are driven by a suitable conveyor drive, such as gear wheels or drums. The drive engages the belt between the rods or it engages cutout teeth formed on the underside of the belts.
The ends of the belts are connected to form endless loops by suitable connectors. Examples of these connectors are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,815,587 and 4,625,369 to Musil, and in Applicant's prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,099,548.
Applicant's previous invention addressed the shortcomings of the prior art connectors, which tended to weaken the conveyor belt at the point of connection, as discussed in applicant's prior patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,099,548, which is hereby incorporated by reference.